Monday, August 20, 2012

Funding your short film presentation in QT Tonight, and Dunedin tomorrow night.

Find out how to get some!

Executive Producers Michelle Turner and Nick Ward who run one of the NZFC Premiere Shorts funding programme will be in Queenstown, Dunedin and Christchurch to talk about the kind of films they are looking for, and what you need to do to be in the running for funding.

Paul Swadel, from another of the Premiere Shorts Executive Producer pods, will be joining them in Christchurch along with a representative from the NZFC Short Film team who will talk about Fresh Shorts funding.

If you don’t have a project ready for Premiere funding but might in the future, come learn how it all works.


Queenstown
6pm Monday August 20th
VIP Lounge at Surreal
7 Rees St.
Queenstown


Dunedin
6pm Tuesday August 21st
“The Church”
50 Dundas St.
Dunedin

For details on the visiting producers, go to http://www.shortandsharp.co.nz/

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Good Girl now available to rent/buy (free at a later date)



My short film Good Girl is now live on Indie Reign
It's a short film about grief. For anyone who has ever loved and lost a pet.
It is currently available to rent or buy for a buck or so (but if you can't spare the dough or you're not into paying for other reasons, I get it.
It will be available to watch free at a later date)

 Thanks,
  Robert

 Watch the trailer below

 

Queenstown Film Society Local Short Film Night 2012


Once again the Queenstown Film Society is presenting a Local Short Film Night as part of its 2012 schedule. Last year’s event was a great highlight of the season and QFS is now calling for entries for this year’s line-up. 

The Local Short Film night will be held on Tuesday 25 September at Dorothy Browns cinema, giving filmmakers the chance to see their work on the big screen!

Any style of film will be considered, as long as there is some connection to the Queenstown Lakes area - the film-maker could be local, it could be set here or feature the district as part of the film.

Anyone wanting to submit a film should email info@queenstownfilmsociety.co.nz as soon as possible.  The finished film should be submitted by 31 July.    Deadline extended ! films accepted  after 31 July


Films should be no more than 15 minutes in length and may be made by a professional or an amateur. There is no age limit - the youngest entrant last year was just 12.

Full guidelines on can be found on the QFS website at: www.queenstownfilmsociety.co.nz.

Monday, July 2, 2012

Trailer and poster for my new short film "Good Girl"








































Good Girl Trailer 1 from Robert Holt on Vimeo.
First trailer for short film Good Girl.
A short film about grief.
Coming soon.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Round Up A Posse & Saddle Up! We're Riding Out!


Good For Nothing


Good For Nothing is a western filmed in New Zealand.

When I first came to New Zealand about 17 yrs ago, I travelled down through the South Island by car and was enthralled with the landscape.
I remember saying to my mate, "Wow, this is the perfect place to shoot a western!".

I have thought about that occasionally since then.
I even wrote a short film script telling the story of an old cowboy and a pair of young Indian sisters who meet out on the trail and prove to be unlikely comforters to each other .
I will shoot it some day.

Writer/Director, Mike Wallis & his Producer/leading lady Inge Rademeyer beat me to the punch though.
Where I hummed and hawed and procrastinated , they galloped full steam ahead and made Good For Nothing, their debut feature .

I'm going to come straight out and say, I loved this movie.

I love that they took all conventional wisdom about making your first low budget movie and ignored the rules.
They eschewed the contemporary and convenient and threw everything on the line, to make a period action movie.

It's funny too.

While it's a proper western, there is a nice dark humorous streak running through it.
Without telling you too much about the story, the movie has a lot of the classic tropes of the genre.

There's a surly outlaw played by the brilliant Cohen Holloway, a pissed off damsel in distress, "Isabella" , played well, with a nearly permanent scowl by Inge Rademeyer who also dons the hat of film producer .
There's tobacco spitting galore, a pursuant posse, (who are hilarious and rather inept, with perpetually unimpressed, sneering faces),
Indians, locomotives, gun slinging , "cheap whores" , and ubiquitous bottles of whisky.

The film looks great too.
New Zealand easily plays the role of the old American wild west and it's beautifully shot by d.p. Matthew Knight.
I was particularly impressed by the high level of detail and care put into the costumes and props/sets which add to the authenticity of the film. 
Dare I say, possibly even more authentic than a lot of bigger budget films of this genre. (Although another great western of recent times, Kelly Reichardt's "Meek's Cutoff" should be noted for getting it right too.)

The Good For Nothing score by John Psathas (iTunes link) is a perfect fit to this epic "little" film also.
It's the whole package!.

Good For Nothing opens on general release today in New Zealand and I urge you to goo see it.

Go see it to support the New Zealand indie film maker.
Go to see it to ensure the cast and crew can finally get a financial reward that is long due them.
Go see it to encourage investors to get behind another film from this cracking team.

Most importantly though, and if for none of the reasons above, go see it to have a fun, entertaining night out , watching an excellent western on the big cinema screen.
You've had a long week, you've earned a treat! 

Cheers,
Robert.








Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Gone In 60 Seconds Awards Evening & Screening Night

Movies!

Get Yourself An Elf
Bye Now


Come on down to the new Paradiso location
 ( in the old church on Brownstone Street )
on Friday at 7.30 pm to watch the movies and , more importantly, to have your say in the audience awarded Best Film category!

ScreenTime



We have been very lucky to have some cool , generous prize sponsors too

Bring friends, dress up or dress down, whatever you feel like doing!




I don't know about you , but I'm keen to check out the new cinema location too!

One Minute (Christmas) Pizza






Entry is probably going to be by gold coin donation ( to Wanaka Film Trust ) but we just want you to see the flicks , so come on down even if you're broke.




Two Front Teeth
Hope to see you there.
Mine